Do we want moose or deer in the north woods?

That’s one of the big questions being debated as Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife prepares new big game management plans with the assistance of a Big Game Steering Committee comprised of folks representing hunting, fishing, conservation, environmental, and landowner groups.

DIF&W recognizes the importance of moose to our state, both for viewing and hunting opportunities, and is struggling to measure and figure out what to do about the large number of moose that are dying of winter ticks. More than 60 percent of moose calves are being killed by ticks.

As you might expect from DIF&W’s very capable lead moose biologist, Lee Kantar, the draft moose management plan is very detailed with solid goals, objectives and strategies. But there is still a lot we don’t know.

One goal is to “Generate a stream of state funds dedicated for Moose Research as it relates to the management and health of Maine’s moose.” The agency proposes to raise this money “through the creation of 2 Conservation tags for moose – one to be sold at auction and the other raffled through the general lottery.”

For the auction, they propose to “Work with a high profile conservation nonprofit such as SCI, DSC, RMEF, etc. to auction one tag to the highest bidder.”

This is totally inadequate, in my opinion, after looking at the list of things that need to be done. This propelled me to propose a bill that I offered two years ago to direct the money raised from the moose lottery and moose permits to moose research and management.

Representative Denise Harlow, a member of the legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, will sponsor my bill directing that all the money raised in the moose lottery and from the sale of moose tags go to moose research and management. I hope the bill will draw DIF&W out to support this at a lesser level. The agency opposed and killed my earlier bill calling for 1/3 of this money to go to moose research, but it’s nice to see that they now recognize they need more money for research.

There are some interesting strategies involving moose hunting. For example, one calls for temporarily discontinuing issuing permits for the southern Maine moose hunt in WMDs 22, 23, 25, and 26. Another would “attempt to stabilize the population near current levels over the short term by implementing an antlerless moose harvest to prevent population growth in WMDs 1 – 11 and 19.”

Continue research to improve our understanding of the relationships between moose, parasites, habitat condition, and management.

Generate a stream of state funds dedicated for Moose Research as it relates to the management and health of Maine’s moose.

Minimize conflicts between people and moose.

Increase opportunities to view moose through education, outreach and management.

Provide a diversity of hunting opportunities and seasons across the state to ensure hunter satisfaction.

Strategies

Each goal includes strategies to achieve them.

There are some interesting strategies involving moose hunting. For example, one calls for temporarily discontinuing issuing permits for the southern Maine moose hunt in WMDs 22, 23, 25, and 26. Another would “attempt to stabilize the population near current levels over the short term by implementing an antlerless moose harvest to prevent population growth in WMDs 1 – 11 and 19.”

Another strategy calls for managing WMDs 1 and 4 for a younger bull age structure and bull:cow ration of 30 to 50 bulls per 100 cows “in order to increase opportunities for harvest while ensuring healthy reproductive rates.” A companion strategy calls for managing all other WMDs in core moose range for an older bull age structure and bull:cow ratio of 50 to 70 bulls per 100 cows in order to provide opportunities to harvest and view mature bulls.

One research strategy would establish “an adaptive/experimental management unit in which to reduce moose density in order to investigate the relationship between moose density, winter ticks, and browse impacts.” They propose to adopt this strategy in WMD 4.

One school of thought is that as the moose population declines, ticks will cease to be a problem.

There is lots more in the plan, including strategies to enhance moose viewing and reduce moose/motor vehicle crashes.

Conclusion

I had a private conversation with Lee Kantar at the last Big Game Steering Committee meeting. Lee has told me before that, in the north woods, we can’t expect large populations of both deer and moose. Lee said he’s looking at a Canadian strategy in which they manage for moose in northern regions and deer in southern regions.

The Big Game Steering Committee meets on January 5 and I’ll be there. You can expect a report on the meeting in this column within a few days of the meeting. And sometime later, you will be given a chance by DIF&W to comment on the plan before it’s adopted. I will also let you know about how and when to do that.

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About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters.
Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014.
In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.
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George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters.
Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014.
In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.